2010 Nobel Peace Prize: Congratulations Dr Liu Xiaobo

Dr Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, and former President of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre (ICPC), has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. I would like to congratulate Dr Liu Xiaobo on the award.

Liu is currently serving an 11 year prison sentence in China for “inciting subversion of state power” and is regarded internationally as a political prisoner. Liu’s absence from the ceremony was marked with an Empty Chair.

The awarding of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo is both a cause for celebration and a reminder that he and more than 40 other writers remain in prison in China; three of them, like Liu, are also members of international PEN.

To celebrate Liu Xiaobo receiving the award and also raise awareness of his situation and that of his fellow writers, PEN is asking members, writers and people everywhere to “spread the word” by listening to, reading and disseminating Liu’s work as comprised in the following links:

Please write to the Chinese authorities respectfully requesting the immediate and unconditional release of Dr Liu Xiaobo and all those detained in China in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory. Letters should be sent to the Chinese authorities in Beijing—see below—with a copy to the Chinese embassy in your home country.

His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
State Council
Beijing 100032
P.R. China

"THE HEIR OF NIGHT by Helen Lowe is a richly told tale of strange magic, dark treachery and conflicting loyalties, set in a well realized world."--Robin Hobb

Thornspell

Jacket art by Antonio Javier Caparo

Thornspell is my first novel and is published by Knopf (Random House Children's Books, USA). It won the Sir Julius Vogel Award 2009 for Best Novel: Young Adult and was a Storylines Childrens' Literature Trust Notable Book 2009.